Any comments on this route in France?

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I'd love to help... but I can't see the route(s)!

I'd be very grateful for any help you could give. You should be ableto see a picture of a map and some route data...Have you ticked the box to allow pictures on this board in your profile options?...just a thought.

 

[Abitrary]

BTFB, how long are you planning for the complete trip?

 

[vernon]

..I am going to stay away from Ventoux though...sounds like one hill too far for me!

..my problem right now is knowing where is nice etc...I could easily ride across France and see all the crappy parts knowing my luck..as I have no idea about the country.

Avoiding Ventoux is a sound idea. I had every intention of 'doing it' until I saw it from afar. It's an evil looking peak and at some stage I will return to the area to take it on but I'm in no hurry.

There are crappy bits but you'd have to be extremely unlucky to ride through them all

The major problem when seeking advice on such an epic journey is that you'll be very lucky to find a single person who's done your elected route and you end up with a subjective tapestry of what's good and what's not.

While I had some notion of the general lie of the land for my route I enjoyed the voyage of discovery that the ride turned out to be.

I'm really jealous that you've got six weeks to play with. I wouldn't get planning permission for such a long tour

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

BTFB, how long are you planning for the complete trip?

probably about 3-4 weeks....but we could stretch to 6 maximum.

 

[vernon]

And why not look at the European Bike Express?

It's worth looking at. Costs around £100 but no faffing about bagging up the bike atc. Just loosen the handlebar stem turn them through 90 degrees and thats the bike prep done. The pick up is at the SE side of the city with a MacDonalds adjacent to the pick up point so you can celebrate the end of your journey in a low key way.

 

[Abitrary]

probably about 3-4 weeks....but we could stretch to 6 maximum.

Yep, there's a lot of cycling there. You'll want a rest day every 3 or 4 days, or you'll get knackered and won't enjoy it.

Also a few days for contingency... things going wrong, sometimes having to turn round because you might not make your destination before nightfall.

I'd be inclined to work out a backup plan where you cherry pick the best bits and get a train if necessary.

 

[Percy]

I quite enjoyed the West coast and didn't find it too busy, but then again I was there in March. The Ile De Re, next to La Rochelle, is worth the ride over the bridge (http://www.johnnyjet.com/images/PicForNewsletterIrelandSept2005IldeReBridge.JPG) if you want a nice break - nice campsite just 1km from the centre of St Martin. I understand it gets very busy in summer months (particularly August) though.

Difficult to say whether the rest of your plan is 'too hilly' or interesting enough - depends what you like really! I liked the South West corner and the country inland as you head East - Verdon Gorge is a good spot to seek out. Villefranche de Rouergue is a great town too. I hit the coast at Agay - don't think you're going that far East are you? The whole ride from St Tropez to Italy - through Cannes, Nice, Monaco etc. is a good mixture of amazing scenery and typical French cote d'azur. Loads of people say it's hell and really dangerous but that wasn't my experience (in July).